The country is in election mode as we head towards a 21 August federal election for the House of Representatives and half of the Senate. The Territory’s two Senate seats and two House of Reps seats will once again be up for grabs. The electorate of Solomon, based on the city of Darwin, is one of the most marginal seats in the country. It is currently held by the ALP’s Damian Hale but will be fiercely contented by the CLP’s Natasha Griggs. While the Greens, One Nation, and Citizens Electoral Council will run candidates in Solomon, history suggests that it is very difficult for minor parties to win seats in the Territory. The other lower house NT electorate of Lingiari, held for Labor by Warren Snowdon, is considered by most pundits to be a safe Labor seat. Ultimately, the voters will decide.

NTCOSS Funding Increase
We are very pleased to announce that we are in the process of completing a new service agreement with DH&F which will involve a substantial increase in our funding base. The existing ‘workforce project’ will continue and we will also be able to make a modest expansion into some other policy areas .We will send members more detail about the new positions when the agreement is finalised.

Election forum
On August 11, NTCOSS, the Environment Centre NTand NT Shelter will run a pre-election forum. Candidates from all major parties will be present to make brief opening statements then take questions from the floor. The event will be held in the Browns Mart Theatre. It will be an opportunity for people in the community to meet the candidates and ask questions about their policies. We will send a flyer for the event through to member organisations shortly, and ask that you publicise it through your networks.

Pre Budget Submission 2011-12
Less than three months after the announcement of the NT Governments 2010-11 Budget, we are again at the start of a new pre-budget submission cycle. It is apparent that the NTG works on very long lead times in its budgetary processes, so the earlier we can lodge our submission the greater the impact we can have. All members will shortly receive an invitation to provide input to our 2011-12 submission by contributing to teleconferences and by supplying written comments. We will be asking all members to assist us in identifying two key priorities for each sector. Time will be of the essence, as we work to finalise the submission by the end of October.

Media
During another busy media month, Wendy and Jonathan were both called upon to speak about income management by a number of media outlets. In Alice Springs, Jonathan was also successful in gaining considerable media coverage for NTCOSS commentary on the expansion of bus routes in Alice. Highlight of the month was Wendy’s appearance on Leon Compton’s Guest Room program on local ABC radio on Wednesday 28 July.

You can listen to a recording of the program here

Regards from the NTCOSS crew